Christians and even non-Christians know something about Good Friday and Easter Sunday. But we also know the day that precedes these two days, i.e. MAUNDY THURSDAY. It is also referred to as Holy Thursday or Thursday of the Supper of the Lord. The word ‘Maundy’ is a shortened form of the Latin word “Mandatum’ which means ‘Command’, reflecting Jesus’s words, “A New Commandment I give you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you must love one another.” Thus, Jesus raised the definition of Love to a new and higher standard.
Maundy Thursday is one of the most important days in the Church’s year and includes all the most significant elements of the Gospel in which we trust, namely, Institution of the Holy Eucharist, the Commandment to Love and Serve, and Holy Priesthood.
The Holy Eucharist: On Maundy Thursday, Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, using two of the frailest elements – Bread and Wine – as symbols of His Body and Blood, and established them to be the monuments of His Death, in order that His Sacrifice on the Cross may never be forgotten. He entrusted to the Church a daily reminder of His Death and Resurrection.
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